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Click on the first letter of the
word from the list above to go to the appropriate
section of the glossary.
- L -
Lapsed Gift: A gift made in a will to a person who
has died prior to the will-makers death. Larceny:
Obtaining property by fraud or deceit.
Law: The combination of those rules and principles
of conduct promulgated by legislative authority,
derived from court decisions and established by local
custom.
Law Clerks: Persons trained in the law who assist
judges in researching legal opinions.
Lawsuit or Suit: Generally, a court action brought
by one person, the plaintiff, against another, the
defendant , seeking compensation for some injury or
enforcement of a right.
Leading Case: Case regarded as having determined
the law on a particular point, thus becoming a guide
for later decisions.
Leading Question: A question that suggests the
answer desired of the witness. A party generally may
not ask one's own witness leading questions. Leading
questions may be asked only of hostile witnesses and
on cross-examination.
Legal Aid: Professional legal services available
usually to persons or organizations unable to afford
such services.
Legal Cause: Substantial factor in bringing about
the harm. See also proximate cause.
Legal Fiction: Assumption of a fact that may or may
not be true made by a judge to decide a legal
question.
Leniency: Recommendation for a sentence less than
the maximum allowed.
Letters of Administration: Legal document issued by
a court that shows an administrator's legal right to
take control of assets in the deceased person's name.
Letters Testamentary: Legal document issued by a
court that shows an executor's legal right to take
control of assets in the deceased person's name.
Liability: An obligation that one is bound in law
to perform; usually involves the payment of money
damages.
Liable: Legally responsible.
Libel: Published words or pictures that falsely and
maliciously defame a person. Libel is published
defamation; slander is spoken.
Liberal construction: Judicial interpretation of
the law whereby the judge expands the literal meaning
of the statute to meet cases that are clearly within
the spirit or reason of the law. Compare with strict
construction whereby the judge adheres to the literal
meaning of the words.
Licensee: In civil law, a person who enters land
with consent, but nothing more.
Lien: A legal claim against another person's
property as security for a debt. A lien does not
convey ownership of the property, but gives the lien
holder a right to have his or her debt satisfied out
of the proceeds of the property if the debt is not
otherwise paid.
Limine: A motion requesting that the court not
allow certain evidence that might prejudice the jury.
Limited tort option: In Pennsylvania, purchasers of
motor vehicle insurance can choose "limited
tort," which restricts their right to seek money
damages for an accident caused by another driver.
Under limited tort, the insured can only seek money
damages for economic loss, including medical bills.
The insured is prohibited from seeking damages for
pain and suffering, except under certain limited
circumstances. Compare with full tort option.
Limited Jurisdiction: Refers to courts that are
limited in the types of criminal and civil cases they
may hear. For example, traffic violations generally
are heard by limited jurisdiction courts.
Litigant: A party to a lawsuit. Litigation refers
to a case, controversy, or lawsuit.
Living Trust: A trust set up and in effect during
the lifetime of the grantor. Also called inter vivos
trust.
Loss of consortuium: Damages awarded to a family
member (usually a spouse) for loss of companionship.
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